The two lawmakers — one an Ohio Republican, the other a California Democrat — teamed up to form the bipartisan Congressional Wi-Fi Caucus, which they launched in October at the height of election turmoil and the partisan fight over who would control the House.

Members-elect from left, Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., take a selfie after the freshman class photo on the East Front of the Capitol. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Freshly elected members of Congress from warmer climates got their first taste of D.C. winters on Wednesday.

But chilly November temperatures couldn’t derail their first class photo — a ritual in which dozens of newcomers squeeze onto risers as the Capitol looms in the background.

The late Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., right, is the inspiration behind the Bipartisan Dinner Group for staffers. (CQ Roll Call file photo)

Michael Hardaway was in an elevator with the late Sen. Ted Kennedy when he was just a young Senate staffer. He seized the opportunity to ask the liberal giant for advice on navigating D.C.

“Sen. Kennedy told me that members in the old days were able to pass bills and get things done because of friendships formed after hours, when members often gathered for steaks and scotch,” said Hardaway, now communications director for New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.

Still, the sun was finally out in Washington, and it felt like another quiet recess day on Capitol Hill, with no members in sight until party leaders arrived for press conferences later in the afternoon.